Smiling in His Sleep
by InsideYourDreams24
Summary: What happens when you're in a nightmare... and you can't wake up? A mission goes horribly wrong for Cobb, Ariadne, Eames, and Arhur. Much torture and angst ahead. CHAPTER 9 MOTHER******S.
1. Chapter 1: The Job

**A/N: Hello everyone! Just a little side story here. I saw Inception yesterday with my friends and absolutely ADORED it. It was sooo good, I loved nearly every minute of it. And I loved JGL in this movie, I just think he's awesome. So, about h****alf way through the movie this fanfic popped into my head and I had half of it written about an hour after I got home haha, I hope you enjoy it! Part 2 will be up soon :)**

**(Note from 2013: This entire story is unbeta-ed, since I started writing it before I really knew was beta-ing was haha. I'm too lazy to try and find one now, so please try to bear with me. If you see something that's really bugging you, or you just want to give me a tip to improve my writing, feel free to telling me via review or PM, thanks!)**

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Ariadne (architect girl) POV:

"So, what's this guy's deal again?" Arthur asked as we got onto the jet plane.

"This 'guy' supposedly works for a known Italian mob leader that our client wants to know the location of." Cobb replied gruffly, swinging his luggage into the overheard compartment.

"Supposedly? Come on Cobb…" Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Just lay off, okay? I'm sure enough." he replied. Arthur was always so hard on Cobb.

"Anyways," Cobb continued, "This Italian mob leader-"

"_Supposed_, Italian mob leader," Arthur cut in with a sneer as he sat down near the window. Cobb scowled at him, then turned to me as I sat down across from him,

"This guy deals with torture to get information; he's trained his men to have mob-like projections. Do not, under any circumstance, let them take you alive. Trust me, they won't kill you, they'll make you wish you were actually dead." Cobb's hard eyes bore into mine, making me squirm in my seat.

"Take it easy, she's not dumb. She knows what to do if something goes wrong," Arthur said, not even taking his eyes off of the window. God knows how Cobb and Arthur ever get through the day without killing each other.

"We need to get this done quickly, the flight's about eight hours from here to Venice. We'll spike his drink, Eames'll put us all under, and then we get in and find out where his boss is located. That's our assignment." Cobb looked at everyone to see if they had any questions. I looked next to me at Eames, he seemed resigned enough. The flight took off and in no time we were up in the air. Our private section (courtesy of Saito) got their drinks, and Cobb distracted the attendant while he slipped some of the concentrated sleeping powder into Mr. Demetri's drink. Within moments he was out and Eames was hooking us all up. I looked across from me as watched as Arthur and Cobb were being put under.

This was when you could see their biggest difference. Eames started up the flow and both of them fell limp in their chairs. I looked at Cobb; even when he was asleep he still looked upset. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was turned down in a frustrated scowl. He never seemed relaxed, not even when he was dreaming. Then I looked at Arthur, who could not look any more different if he tried. He looked absolutely tranquil, serene. All of his worries seemed completely washed away; he even smiled in his sleep. I didn't know if he actually didn't worry when he fell asleep, but it sure seemed like it. They looked so different, almost cliché sleeping next to each other; absolute opposition, frustration and peace, chaos and order, yin and yang. I smirked and leaned back as I felt the needle pierce my arm.

We were in a large city, it was night time. The street lights were on and there were few people on the road. I looked to my left and right but I didn't see anyone. I was about to step into the street when someone grabbed my arm from behind me. I almost screamed until I realized it was Arthur, dressed in a beige trench coat and a dark hat. He smiled and motioned to follow him down the alley. I started to tell him off, but he immediately put his hand over my mouth,

"Mr. Demetri is a very perceptive dreamer, we can't risk drawing any sort of attention to ourselves," He whispered into my ear. We met Cobb behind an abandoned warehouse, he was dressed the same way Arthur was. They looked more like Chicago mobsters from the 40's than the Italian mafia, but it still worked. I took this moment to realize what I was wearing myself. I looked down to discover a tight-fitting knee-length red dress with a low V-neckline and my hair was up in curls. I glanced in a store window and my jaw dropped as I noticed my cherry-red lips and heavy eye make-up. Not to mention the various pearls and ribbons in my hair. I looked like a mob girl, and as I took another step forward I realized I had a gun under my dress, hooked onto my thigh. Yep, definitely part of the mob, I thought. I briefly wondered how much I'd actually be able to do in this dress as Cobb motioned us through the doors into the warehouse.

It was extremely dark, but we walked quickly through the large room until we came to a basement door. Cobb knelt down, pulled out a skeleton key, and after checking behind us, unlocked the door with little difficulty. I looked at the windows of the warehouse; a couple walking by stared at me through the window, a dead glare in their eyes. I hurried down the stairs as the guys were trying to unlock another door.

"Guys, I think Demetri's projections are onto us," I whispered. Arthur glanced up the stairs in the dim light of one bulb, but then looked back as the door clicked open. We hurried in and looked around; it looked almost the same as the floor above, just a bit smaller. At the back of the room was a large safe, that's what we had come for. I heard Arthur breathe a sigh of relief next to me as Cobb dashed across the room to the safe.

"Not so fast," said a voice from behind us. All three of us spun around to find Mal standing in the doorway, surrounded by Demetri's projections.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no…" I gasped. I turned to Cobb, who just stood there with his mouth open, at a loss for words.

"Cobb…" Arthur said warily as he pulled his gun out from his jacket, not daring to take his eyes off of Mal and the other men.

"I- I don't know, I thought…" Cobb stuttered. I turned back to Mal, whose eyes had narrowed into slits.

"That's them." She said bluntly. The men immediately open fired as Arthur as I tried to fight back. We ducked behind the pillars as Cobb desperately tried to get the safe open. The men ran towards us without fear; I heard a cry of pain as I saw Arthur go down on the other side of the room, clutching his leg. I screamed as I felt a bullet go through my arm. I dropped to the floor, clutching my wound as blood started pouring out. Desperately I looked up at Cobb who had just gotten the safe open when he got shot in the back.

"No!" I yelled, forgetting that he really couldn't die. He bent over, clutching the papers in his hand as the men surrounded the three of us. As they began to pick me up I quickly tucked my gun back under my dress as I saw Arthur and Cobb do the same.

The men dragged us out of the room to a run-down apartment building next door. It was falling apart, with the windows boarded up and the wallpaper peeling off. There was nothing in the room but a chair, unless you counted the spider webs. Two men held on to my arms as I saw two more men hold Cobb and another two holding up Arthur, who was wincing as his leg dragged on the floor. A tall man walked in who was clearly in charge of the others. He walked up to each of us, anger and malice in his eye. Could projections really act this way? This was far more advanced than anything else I'd seen. These projections had order, they had social class; they almost had a mind of their own. The tall man stopped at Arthur, who clenched his teeth, scowling at him; Arthur and Cobb were both really good at scowling. I glanced over at Cobb, and did a double-take. He looked absolutely terrified; his eyes were wide and he was breathing heavily. Wait, what was going on? Why was he so upset? The tall man looked away from Arthur and back at the two of us. Mal walked in through the door then, and the tall man looked to her,

"He's the one you want," She said, nodding towards Arthur. Hold on, Arthur? Wouldn't they want Cobb? Why was she blaming the wrong person?

"No! Mal, please, don't do this!" Cobb yelled. I stared at his panic stricken eyes and then looked at Mal, who gave him a seductive wink.

"Cobb, what the hell is happening?" I yelled, not able to contain myself anymore. None of this was making sense! My breathing started to speed up as the tall man spun around and punched Arthur square in the face, causing his nose to bleed.

"NO!" Cobb screamed as the man pulled out a gun and pointed the barrel towards me. Adrenaline shot through me for a second before I screamed and he pulled the trigger.


	2. Chapter 2: Saving Arthur

**A/N: Oh my goodness, thank you everyone who reviewed, I was so surprised at number of responses haha. I'm not one to torture (at least not actual people haha) so here's the second part.**

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**_Previously:_**

_"NO!" Cobb screamed as the man pulled out a gun and pointed the barrel towards me. Adrenaline shot through me for a second before I screamed and he pulled the trigger._

All of the sudden, I was back on the airplane. I gasped for air and clutched my chest as reality began to settle around me. I looked up at Eames who was looking at Cobb. I turned to Cobb, watching him sleep for no longer than two seconds before his eyes snapped open, sucking in breath,

"No!" He gasped. He tried to jump forward, but Eames quickly pushed him back. As Cobb struggled against him I looked over at Arthur...

He wasn't awake.

His smile was gone, his teeth with clenched, and he was breathing heavily as sweat started to form over his furrowed brow. If I didn't know any better I'd have said that he was having a terrible nightmare. Cobb pushed Eames away and turned towards Arthur, grabbing both of his shoulders and shaking him violently,

"Come on, come on Arthur! Wake up, wake up, please!" Arthur held no response, his head hanging lifelessly as Cobb slapped him in the face.

"Dom, stop it!" Eames yelled, pulling his arms back, "It's too late now, he's too far gone into the dream. You know we can't risk bringing him back now!" Arthur collapsed back into his seat as Cobb broke off and turned towards Eames, grabbing hold of his collar and pulling it towards him,

"Send me back, you send me back right now!" He yelled, tears escaping down his cheeks.

"Cobb, please! What is going on?" I cried. Everything was happening so fast and I just couldn't keep up.

"Demetri is trained; his projections know that if we die, we wake up. They're keeping Arthur alive inside Demetri's dream, they're torturing him," He looked over as Arthur let out a small grunt. It was then that I noticed his left hand had blood pouring out from it,

"Oh my God, his hand!" I exclaimed. Cobb grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled it towards him, struggling to keep it steady as Arthur reflexively tried to pull it back. He forced open his tight fist to find a long cut on his palm where his nails had cut through from clenching so hard. Cobb looked up desperately at Eames,

"Please, send me back now." I'd never seen him like this, not even when Mal had shown up in his dreams. Eames nodded slowly and began to hook us back up to the machine. Cobb looked beside him, "Hang on Arthur, please, hang on," He said, staring at him with glassy eyes before he fell back into his seat. I leaned back and nodded at Eames to put me under too, there was no way he was going without back up.

Cobb raced down the street trying to find the apartment building. I ran behind him frantically trying to keep up. All of the streets started to look the same, why could we have come in the same place we had last time? Cobb ran faster and faster, I probably would have lost him if I wasn't the one that had built this level. Cobb was seething, running all over the neighborhood like a mad man. We had been awake on the plane for no longer than three minutes. Unfortunately that gave the projections over half and hour to do whatever they wanted to Arthur. When we finally found the place; Cobb kicked down the door and ran up the stairs into the apartment room.

He crashed into the building, ready to take on anything, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw next.

Four or five projections were standing around a wooden table, holding various guns and knives. When I looked closer at the scene I nearly started to cry. There, trembling on the table, was Arthur. His trench coat was gone, revealing a blood-soaked shirt, vest, and tie. Long cuts ran up his torso and arms, and it looked like he had gotten shot more than once. They had done this in half and hour? It was a wonder he was still alive! His face was dirty, bloody, and bruised. He had given up fighting, and was crying and shaking uncontrollably as the tall man, the head projection, ran his knife up Arthur's cheek, piercing the skin from him jaw to just above his eye.

All of his cuts had become outrageously tender, like someone had tried to cauterize them. A small, white container answered my question. Salt, they had pour salt on his wounds. The projection tilted the container slightly, letting bits of white fall out. The second it touched Arthur's face he arched his back and _screamed_. That knocked me and Cobb out of our trance-like state,

"Hey! Get away from him!" Cobb screamed. We quickly shot at the men surrounding the table. These men were preoccupied, so we caught at least two before they realized Arthur was not the only intruder. They shot at us, but we were much more determined this time. This wasn't just business, this was personal. We got all of the men down except for the head mobster. He grabbed a knife and held is out towards Arthur, who was already breathing rapidly.

"Don't you dare…" Cobb warned. He knew that the man wouldn't kill him, but I knew Cobb didn't want Arthur to be in more pain than he already was,

"Or what? You'll kill me? Newsflash, there's a whole other army coming just down the street." I looked out the window and sure enough, figures ran down the streets in the distance like a mob. I looked over at Cobb, who was looking between Arthur and the man. Arthur turned towards us weakly,

"Dom…" He choked out,

"Don't try and say anything Arthur we're getting you out of here," said Cobb firmly.

"No… don't worry…about me… I don't have… much blood left… "

"Arthur, don't you start that shit with me…"

"Get the location… and get out… now," Arthur said before dropping his head to the side, passing out cold. Cobb looked just about ready to break down. He glared back at the man,

"Now you listen up you bastard. I could care less about your stupid mafia, or your Goddamn leader; but you just messed with my closest friend, and that's not something you want following you around," He dove at the man, dodging bullets faster than I would have thought possible, and stood, grabbing the man in a choke hold. The man tried to shoot him, but he twisted the gun out of the man's hand, shooting him in the head.

"Let's get out of here kid," He said, going over to the table and carefully picking his friend up off of the bloody table. Arthur moaned at the shift of position, but didn't wake up.

"What level is he on?" I asked worriedly as we ran down the stairs.

"Somewhere between the second and third… I think. I-I don't know, this hasn't happened in a while, not since Siato," Cobb hurried outside, when a crowd of people attacked us.

"Shit; I forgot about them," Cobb said, punching one in the face while still trying to hold on to Arthur. He ran in the other direction than where we showed up, running back into the warehouse.

"Cobb, what are you doing?" I yelled, fighting off projections as he ran across the room.

"Completing the mission!" he yelled, grabbing the fallen papers and tucking them in to his jacket pocket, "Now we have to get out of here!"

"You think?" I screamed, not amused with him. I kicked a projection across the face, so glad I wasn't in that dress anymore.

Out of nowhere Cobb pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and throwing it into the crowd of people. I ran away quickly right before the bomb went off, throwing projections every which way.

"Come on, let's go," Cobb urged, climbing on top of a box and breaking a window, throwing Arthur out onto the street first before climbing out after him. I jumped up as the mob of people started to run towards us, and shut the door just as one started to grab for me.

I stood up and smoothed out my jeans, looking over at Cobb, who was staring at Arthur. I could see the guilt welling up in him as he looked at his friend's beaten and bruised face. Arthur still wasn't smiling, not that he had any reason too. But Cobb didn't need to blame himself for this, Arthur knew what would happen if they got captured.

"It's not your fault," I whispered, still looking around for projections that were bound to get here soon.

"Yes it is," Cobb stated, "Mal is my memory, she's the one that gave him to those men in the first place. If I wasn't keeping her… if she wasn't so… I should have taught him more about torture in dreams, how disorienting it is, how…" his voice died out before he could finish a sentence, a tear coming down as Arthur winced in discomfort. "We need to go, they'll find us soon, even if we're not doing anything," He said, sniffing and setting Arthur down on a bench. He threw me a gun, "You first."

I wrinkled my nose, this was the one this I didn't like about working with them.

"Unless you want to stay another five or ten minutes," Cobb said as he looked behind me, another mob of people became visible a few blocks down. I wasted no time pulling the trigger.

Then I was back on the plane. I looked over at the two men, frowning when I saw a cut on Arthur's forehead. I looked up as Eames,

"He started seizing a few seconds after you guys went under. I tried to keep him under control, but he still managed to bang his head a couple times," he replied.

I was just about to say something when Arthur jolted awake, he gasped as his eyes widened and he threw his arms back against the seat and the wall, looking around frantically. Cobb woke up then, turning towards his friend and holding his arms up,

"Hey, it's alright Arthur. You're not in the dream anymore, everything's okay." Arthur looked at Cobb for a second with scarily wide eyes, and dug into his pocket, pulling out a small red die, his totem. He shook it for a few seconds then rolled it onto the tray in front of him. He covered the die before I could see what it landed on. He peeked at the die under his hands, and then heaved a large sigh. He collapsed back into his chair; running his hands through his gelled-back hair. Cobb padded his shoulder,

"It's good to have you back man, I was getting real worried," he said. He was sincere too, the kind of sincerity that you don't get from many people. Arthur opened his exhausted eyes and looked at the man in front of him,

"Thanks for coming back for me. And thanks for bringing me back," he said with a tired grin, and closed his eyes again. Cobb rested in his seat, breathing calmly after everything that had just happened. He watched Arthur for a few minutes, making sure he was alright, before closing his eyes. Somehow we had managed to get all of our men out and complete the mission. Boy, we were good. I lifted my knees up as Eames got back into the seat after putting away all of the extraction machines. I looked over at Arthur, who slept for the rest of the flight; never stirring, never making noise, and he never stopped smiling.


	3. Chapter 3: Smiles Can Be Faked

**A/N: SURPRISE! Alright, so I've had the first part of this in my head since FOREVER, and I don't know if it was the fact that Inception just came out on DVD, or stress from finals in a couple weeks, but somehow inspiration hit me! I don't know if anyone's even still subscribed to this story, but I guess we'll just have to find out.**

**Btw, I'll probably have all chapter's after this be 3rd person, just because I've found that that's a lot easier to do, especially with the emotional scenes I have planned, sorry.**

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**Ariadne's POV:**

We got off in Italy, Mr. Demetri walking down the hallway like nothing had happened. We followed him down to baggage claim, where he walked out the door, completely oblivious to what had just happened. Cobb, Eames and I started to exit when we heard a strangled noise from behind us. We turn around to find Arthur frozen in place, not moving, not smiling. As I looked closer I noticed he was barely breathing. He stared past us out the glass doors. I immediately looked outside to find Mr. Demetri talking with a very tall, very _familiar_ looking man. I heard Cobb gasp as I stared in shock out the door.

"No, no, no, no… I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Cobb yelled as he stared to crash through the revolving door. A large arm stopped him in his tracks,

"Cobb," Eames kept him back warningly, "That's not him. The man in the dream is not the man out there. That was only Mr. Demetri's projection of him. He is not the man you want; the man you want doesn't exist," Cobb looked up at him with a glare that could melt ice. I looked back towards Arthur, when I noticed his lip was trembling terribly.

"Arthur?" Cobb called. A closer look made me realize that Arthur was shaking all over, "Arthur calm down, it's okay," Cobb ran up to him, holding his shoulders and tried to look him straight in the eyes. Arthur wouldn't focus though, his eyes almost glassed over as he just continued to stare into space.

"Arthur! That's not him, you hear me? That's not him!" Cobb yelled in his face, but that still could break Arthur out of his frozen stance.

"We have to get him out of here, he's not going to come out of it that easily, you know that," Eames said under his breath. What did that mean? And how were we going to get Arthur out of here? Eames grabbed Arthur behind the knees and before I could even begin to ask was carrying him bridal-style out the door. Arthur didn't even flinch as his eyes just kept looking at the ceiling. I kept glancing at him worriedly as we walked outside, Cobb catching us a cab. I sat in the front, since Cobb refused to leave Arthur's side as Eames sat him down in the middle of them.

"What's wrong with your friend there?" The cab driver asked with little interest.

"Oh, you know… the poor fellow parties too hard sometimes," Eames said with a nervous chuckle.

"Ah, where to then?" The driver didn't ask any more questions and drove us to the nearest four-star hotel in the area. Eames carried Arthur all the way up into his room as I kept stealing nervous glances behind me as Cobb opened the door. Eames set Arthur down on the bed, gaining no response from Arthur whatsoever.

"I still don't believe this is happening, to one of my own team members, god dammit!" Cobb furiously raked his fingers through his hair, pacing around the room.

"Don't believe _what's_ happening? Please Cobb, what's going on?" I tried to grab Cobb's hand, but he jerked away from me, heading towards the bathroom. I stared after him in disbelief before I turned around. Eames had pulled a chair up next to the bed, holding Arthur's hand as the point man stared at the ceiling. Eames looked like he was about to cry,

"Please Arthur, don't make us do this darling," he whispered, brushing back Arthur's hair.

"Eames...?" I called softly, "Please Eames, tell me what's happening, what's wrong with Arthur?" Eames took a large intake of breath and stood up, walking up to me with his eyes towards the ground.

"I'm sorry Ariadne, this must all be very confusing for you. Neither Cobb nor I could have ever seen this coming."

"Seen what? Eames-"

"Sometimes when an extractor, or a point man, or whoever is inside the mark's dream, sometimes when they're tortured extensively enough... their own subconscious begins to seep into the mark's dream."

"Like Cobb with Mal and the freight train?" I asked.

Eames closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Exactly; when this happens, the extractor is susceptible to any number of mind tricks, which includes... the mark being able to plant something in the extractor's mind."

"What?" I yelled, how was that possible? What did that mean? I looked over to Arthur, his glassy eyes still never leaving the hotel ceiling.

"The mark can do this almost subconsciously; that is, they can train their projections to do it to any extractor that they detect is trying to extract something from their mind. They plant something inside the extractor's mind, and then whenever it gets triggered- usually by seeing someone, thinking, or remembering something- it renders the extractor catatonic." Eames furrowed his brow in worry, looking back at their point man. I was still in shock.

"So, there's something inside Arthur's head that Demetri put in it?" I asked,

"Precisely," Cobb said as he came storming out of the bathroom, his totem clutched in his hand, "And that's why we need to perform extraction on Arthur, immediately."

"Extraction?" I asked incredulously, "Why?"

"Because there's something in Arthur's head we need to get out. Whatever Demetri put inside him could be doing anything to Arthur; he could be destroying his subconscious as we speak. We not only need to find what Demetri planted, we need to completely destroy it," Cobb spoke gruffly, getting out the PASIV device and setting it up on the bed beside Arthur.

"Destroy it? Won't that hurt Arthur too?" I asked,

"Yes, we'll be killing part of his mind along with it," Eames said solemnly, "But leaving it there would be a thousand times worse."

"How deep into Arthur's mind will we need to go?" I asked, not wanting to invade Arthur's privacy; the last place a person should be able to feel safe is their own mind.

"As deep as we need to, it depends how deep Demetri's projections planted it," Cobb said.

"How will you know what it is?" I asked yet again, not feeling very confident in what we were doing, but it seemed like Eames and Cobb knew what they were doing. Cobb and Eames hooked themselves up to the machine while Eames hooked Arthur up.

"Trust me, we'll know," Eames said with a grim grin. He looked up at me, "You're coming too."

"M-me?" I stammered, "Why? You two are way closer to him."

"We need someone there to keep us on track, should we find something in Arthur's mind that's... unpleasant," Cobb sighed, looking at Arthur. I was speechless, staring at Cobb, then Eames, then Arthur, then back to Cobb.

"There's more to him that meet's the eye darling," Eames said, "Arthur's been through more than you could ever imagine." He handed me the needle as I took it tentatively,

"Let's get this over with," Cobb growled.

Eames stole one last look at Arthur, stroking his cheek, "Sorry about this, love."

I sighed, trying to prepare myself for what we were about to do, then felt the rush of the PASIV device as we were all taken under.

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**A/N: Also, if anyone's interested, I uploaded another Inception fic called I'm Sorry, it starts off with when Arthur gets shot in the movie, then branches off of that. Thank you so so much for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4: Level One

**A/N: ****A super extra special thanks to NikkitaIronBlade.94 and FreedomIsNotFree996 for really kicking my butt into gear on this story, this is for you guys ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**PS: And just to let you know, I do plan on having the rest of this story be in 3rd person omnciscent, I'm trying to steer away from Ariadne and focus more on Cobb and Eames and their brother/fatherly relationship with Arthur.**

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Chapter 4: Level One

Ariadne found herself standing in the middle of an intersection, gasping in fright before she realized there were no cars anywhere. She looked around, discovering that she was in a city, much like what she had seen of Chicago. However, as far as she could see, there were no cars on the streets anywhere; there were no people, no birds, nothing. It was like the city had been evacuated.

"Cobb? Eames?" She called out nervously, nothing. She took a light step forward, acting as if the pavement would crumble if she stepped too hard. She reached for her gun, taking it out just to be safe. She continued walking down the middle of the road, past the abandoned shops and business. Ariadne felt like she was in a post-apocalypse movie as she scanned around her, looking for whomever, or whatever was lurking around in the silent city.

As she took another step forward something burst out from the street. She screamed, falling backwards as a ladder spiraled up from the street and into one of the buildings.

'_What in the world...?'_ she wondered, staring at the twisting ladder woven into the exterior of a glass business office. _'Might as well,'_ she concluded, putting away her gun as she began to scale the ladder, wondering how complex Arthur's mind really was.

She broke through the window into the building and was met with a soft groan. Looking down she saw Eames lying on the floor, his face scrunched up in pain.

"Oh my gosh! Eames, are you alright?" Ariadne cried, kneeling down beside him.

"Just dandy, sweetheart," Came a reply through gritted teeth.

"What happened?"

"Oh nothing; just fell off a Penrose staircase, that's all," Eames groaned. "I should have expected it I suppose, Arthur was always one for the paradoxes." Eames looked up, Ariadne following his glance as she saw the staircase abruptly ending about eight feet about their heads.

"You're sure you're alright?" Ariadne asked again as the forger began to stand up, stretching his back.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Let's just fine Cobb, shall we?" He gave her his classic sarcastic-humorous grin as he when out of the broken window, sliding down the ladder.

Ariadne followed, her curiosity growing as they walked down abandoned street after abandoned street.

"Where is everyone? Where are the projections?" She asked.

"The projections, if you remember darling, are manifestations of Arthur's subconscious. Right now, Demetri is screwing with that subconscious. So either he's already managed to kill every single projection on this level, or he's down deeper and the projections are going down to try and save Arthur's mind. Unfortunately I think it's the second one." Eames looked up at the buildings, sorrow crossing his face.

Ariadne stared out after him, wondering how Eames and Cobb were taking this. Ariadne felt horrible, and she had only known Arthur for a few months. She got the impression that the other guys had known each other for years and years, maybe even went to school together. She thought of her own friends back home, if something ever happened to them... she was hit with an unexpected sense of homesickness as she realized she hadn't been home in a long time. She loved the job, but she had yet to fill the 'break-ties-with-everyone-you-know' part of what almost seemed like a job requirement.

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Eames quickly sliding down the ladder, and Ariadne had to rush down and run to keep up with the man. He ran down the streets, shout Cobb and Arthur's name as loud as he could, clearly not worried about projections or traps. After they had been running for a good three minutes they finally heard the sound of another voice. They ran down a couple more blocks and, to their immense relief, there stood Cobb. He had his back towards them, scanning the streets.

"COBB!" Eames yelled, causing Cobb to snap his head in their direction. Neither Eames nor Ariadne missed the sigh of relief Cobb also gave as they met each other in the abandoned street.

"Have you guys seen anyone?" Cobb asked, panting slightly.

"Nope," Eames panted, his breath coming out in ragged gasps, "Not a single bloody soul in this whole damn level. This is bad... real bad. We need to find someone, otherwise... otherwise we can't move down a level."

"Well why not?" Ariadne asked defiantly.

"Because, darling, you need a subject to go down a level as we told you your very first day... no people, no digging deeper..." Eames finally began to get his breath back as he stood up straight, stretching out his back with a groan, "I really need to get into shape."

"What we need to do is find a place that Arthur knows; someplace in anyway related to him. We may be able to find a straggled projection there and knock them out," Cobb stated carefully, the gears in his head beginning to turn. Eames started to look around, glancing down streets when he did a double-take down one of the alleys.

"What a minute! I know that house! That the home Arthur grew up in as a child!" Eames exclaimed, pointing to a normal-looking white house; well, it would have looked normal if it weren't squished between two skyscrapers.

"Eames, how do you know that's his childhood home?" Cobb asked, partially because he was wary of any traps, but also because he had never heard Arthur even _talk_ about his family.

"I came with Arthur a few months ago for his father's funeral. He said that his father was a real kind man, and I felt bad for the bloke." Eames explained as he opened the gate to the small house, the squeaking of un-oiled hinges seeming even louder as it repeated down the street. The three warily entered the house, looking around every corner for projections or Arthur. The house had definitely seen better days; the yellow wallpaper was coming off of the walls, the furniture was broken, several pictures hanging from the wall were cracked, and the flowers were all long-since dead.

"Arthur? You here, old boy?" Eames whispered in a hushed tone. No response. The team came to a set of old wooden steps that each member tested their weight on before advancing up. There was a long, very ominous hallway with a few doors on each side, the biggest door lying at the very end. Cobb went to the front of the line as they heard a commotion going on behind it. There were sounds of things breaking, someone yelling in anger, and a very small voice responding. There also seemed to be someone crying in the background. Cobb held up his gun, sliding down the hall as stealthily as a cat; Eames followed close behind. As they approached the enormous wooden door, they could barely make out the dialogue behind it,

"_Please, Bruce. Don't do this!"_

"_Stay out of it, Elaine!"_

"_He's your son!"_

"_He's a coward!"_

Another crash came and Cobb decided that the context they had gotten was enough as he kicked down the door, revealing an office in shambles. There was a small, mousey woman in the corner, her cheeks stained with tears; a large, robust man in the center of the room, and a small boy that was lying motionless in a heap of papers, amongst bits of splintered wood from an armoire that had shelves broken and doors off its hinges. Cobb shot the man in the head while Eames went to help the lady and Ariadne rushed over to the child, who was bleeding from his head and lip.

"It's alright ma'am, everything's over now," Eames comforted the woman, even though he knew she wasn't real,

"Please, my baby, my Arthur! Where is he?" She asked hysterically.

"Your-your what?" Eames stared at her; confusion, dread, and then slowly anger rushing through his mind.

"Eames! Cobb! Get over here!" Ariadne screamed as she helped the boy stand up. Eames left the woman and Cobb left the dead man to stand over them. "Look!" Ariadne exclaimed,

The little boy, no more than eight or nine, looked up at them with tears in his eyes. His lip was swollen and there were already bruises forming on his face, but his eyes... those brown eyes... Cobb would recognize those eyes anywhere.

"Arthur!" He yelled, his fears being confirmed as the little boy flinched from his loud voice.

"Please don't hurt me daddy, please! I'll be good, I'll be brave just like you want me to, just don't hurt me!" Cobb turned around, tears forming in his eyes. Eames stared at the child for a few moments before his hands clenched into fists.

"That son of a_ bitch_!" He yelled, "Why didn't the bloke ever say-? How could we-? He went to the man's funeral for God's sake!" Eames' anger was building and Cobb tried to calm him down before he did something really stupid.

He put a hand on the fuming man's shoulder, "Eames, Eames! Listen to me! There's nothing we can do, you hear me? Nothing! Just focus, alright? We need to get Arthur back, now! There's nothing we can do!" Cobb stared Eames down, trying to reach the man with his eyes if his words failed. Slowly the wrath that was Eames began to fade as he returned his attention to the small child who was still being embraced by Ariadne.

"Cobb, do you think we could use _him_ to go down a level? I mean, technically he _is_ Arthur..." Ariadne proposed, trying to console little Arthur by running a hand over his head. Cobb stared at the boy, his paternal instincts growing even more than they usually did for the young boy, even if he was just a projection, a memory.

"It should, we'll just have to see," Cobb said softly, looking up at Eames. Eames rolled his eyes; he hated being the person to do this.

"Hey there little fellow, I'm going to give you some candy, alright? But the trick is you can't chew them, okay?" Eames got down on one knee in front of the kid, pulling out two small blue pills. The boy looked at him with a piercing gaze (which was pretty impressive for someone with brown eyes) before nodding his head and taking the pills. He swallowed them easier than Eames would have thought and before long he was asleep in Ariadne's arms.

"How long should he be out for?" She asked,

"Beats me, Yusuf gave them to me," Eames replied bluntly, pulling a PASIV device out of literally nowhere and setting it up in the shambled room.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Of course, he's a projection, he's not real."

"But, but Arthur? Is he going to be alright?"

Eames sighed, looking Ariadne straight in the eyes, "I don't know, love, I really don't. I've never had to deal with this before. But I hope so; I hope to God he's alright." Eames glanced down at the boy again, Ariadne didn't miss the glisten in his eyes growing.

"Cobb? Where'd you go old chap?" Eames called. Cobb came back into the room, polishing his gun.

"Sorry, I had to take care of the other projection," he murmured. Ariadne looked up at him in horror,

"Dom! That was his mother!" she cried.

"It was a projection, she wasn't real!"

"Right, because you're the expert on that sort of thing." Cobb's eyes flashed.

"Oi!" Eames growled, "I know this is tough on all of us but we really don't need to be fighting now. Cobb was just being thorough because if even one projection is left unguarded while we're under they can call as many projections as they need and we'd be completely defenseless. Now come on, we don't have much time."

Ariadne huffed, sending a scowl at Cobb before hooking herself up to the PASIV device.

After she was under, Eames looked at Cobb with concern, "Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I shouldn't have told her what I was doing. I just need to give her more time. Let's go get Arthur," Cobb gave the forger a smirk and the two of them hastily connected themselves and sank into the second level.

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**A/N: The next chapter is where a lot of the hurt/comfort and angst is going to start back up, be ready! You guys are truly the best for putting up with me, I love all of you! Please review and thank you SO SO much for reading! IYD24**


	5. Chapter 5: Level Two

Chapter 5: Level Two

They awoke in a dark stairway. Mold and dirt clung to the damask walls and the black paint was chipping off of the railing. The entire area reeked of city sewage and the rusty smell of blood. Ariadne looked over the railing of the stairs only to find that the staircase seemed to go on infinitely until she could no longer see through what seemed to be a grey haze of smog. A quick glance up confirmed that the stairs continued infinitely upwards as well.

"Leave it to Arthur to create and actual never-ending staircase," Eames mumbled.

Cobb wordlessly began ascending the stairs and, after exchanging glances, Eames and Ariadne followed closely behind him. Ariadne quickly became very dizzy, all of the walls seemed to begin to look the same, as if they were just traveling in a circle around and around and around until-

"Hold it!" Eames threw and arm out to stop Cobb from going forward as the floor dropped away from them and the Penrose staircase was revealed.

"Paradox. I'm not falling for that one again," Eames said with a slight grumble.

"So where do we go now?" Ariadne asked, her eyes completely lost in Arthur's maze of stairs.

"I'm guessing the same way we came..." Eames started to say as he turned around, "... Ah. Or we could just go through that door." He gestured towards a steel door that had suddenly made its presence known. Eames tentatively opened it and after seeing that there were no traps set up, opened the door more so that Ariadne and Cobb could step through.

As they walked past the entry, the only thing that awaited them was darkness; Utter and complete darkness. The door slammed shut of its own accord and Ariadne jumped as the sound echoed. The three squinted in the extremely dim room, Cobb walking towards the only source of light, a faint glow coming from around a corner. He pressed himself against the wall, peering around the edge so he wouldn't be seen by any unfriendly projections; or worse, Demetri.

He had only looked for about two seconds when Eames saw Cobb visibly pale. Cobb staggered back to the two and held his hand over his mouth,

"Cobb, what it is?" Eames asked, placing a comforting hand on the extractor's shoulder, "Is it Arthur? Is he... hurt?"

"No; I mean yes, I mean... Demetri's turned the second layer of Arthur's mind into a dream loop." Cobb explained as the hand covering his mouth moved upwards towards his eyes.

"A-a dream loop?" Ariadne asked, confused.

"A dream loop is when someone is when someone is skilled enough... or, or the mark is weak enough... that they can bring memories into the dream world. They can create an entire level of endless memories; pleasant, unpleasant, hectic, tranquil, the list goes on and on. And usually the mark gets so lost in their memories that it's virtually impossible for them to concentrate on the extractor trying to steal from them." Eames glanced across the room at Cobb, who was leaning against the wall for support.

Ariadne's dread grew stronger,

"So I'm guessing these aren't pleasant memories Demetri's recovering."

Cobb shook his head slowing, his voice coming out rough with emotion, "No. No, no, no. Not at all... it's his worst memories, _our_ worst memories," At this remark he locked eyes with Eames, his expression telling the forger everything he needed to know.

"Oh well God bloody dammit," Eames muttered under his breath, running a hand vehemently through his hair.

"What?" Ariadne asked.

"You know that Arthur's been out point man for years, right? Well, when the job goes south, and it has, some marks have had some... interesting ways of getting us back in the dream. And since Arthur is usually the first one investigating, it usually doesn't end well for him... ever." Eames' eyes started to take on a far-off look before he quickly brought himself back.

"Ariadne, you know how we said we needed you to come to keep us focused?" Cobb asked, staring the architect down, "This is why. Arthur is like our brother, we will not stand to see him in pain and we _will_ try to save him, no matter the cost and no matter whether it's even Arthur or not. You need to be the one to tell us that it's a projection. You need to get us out and to the next room no matter how hard we fight. We need you to do this for us."

Ariadne looked scared, then worried, then resolved.

"I'll do it," she replied flatly, determination set in her eyes.

"Then let's get this show on the road," Eames commented.

Eames, Ariadne, and Cobb rounded the corner when Ariadne gasped. Lying deathly still on a metal table, was Arthur. He looked like he had been tortured extensively. There were multiple bruises and cuts on every inch of visible skin. His shirt was torn and bloodied, and his hair was disheveled. The three had barely taken in his beaten form when a metal door slid open on the wall to their right. Cobb's hand flashed to the gun on his hip but stopped when he recognized the men coming through the door were.

Doppelgangers of Eames and himself came crashing into the room, their guns out and ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Ariadne stiffened, but neither Eames nor Cobb's double seemed to notice any of them, their eyes were only drawn to Arthur. Eames watched the scene with a knot in his stomach. He remembered this mission vividly; it was one of the first that he, Cobb, and Arthur had run as a team.

"Don't worry, they won't attack you." Eames said, in a small, disembodied voice. "They're only memories. They can't even see you." Cobb reached out and put a hand on Eames' shoulder for comfort, watching the memory in disdain. The two memories of Eames and Cobb had finally reached Arthur. Cobb stared at him with his mouth open, his eyes filled with horror. Eames looked around the room for any more projections, his gun at his side. Cobb immediately put his gun away, nudging Arthur gently on the shoulder.

"Arthur?" he whispered, only gaining a weak moan from the point man.

"Why don't we just put the poor bloke out of his misery already?" Eames growled, "The projections could be back at any minute." Before the forger could convince the extractor anymore, Arthur gasped loudly, his arms scrambling wildly to find purchase on the metal table.

"Arthur, Arthur! It's okay, it's alright; they're gone." Dom held Arthur by his shoulders, pulling him into an upright position. It was then that Cobb noticed the immense amount of blood streaming down his face, seemingly coming from his eyes, which Arthur had not opened.

"Cobb? Cobb, is that you? Where's Eames?" The point man asked nervously, obviously trying to keep calm but failing miserably.

"My God Arthur, what happened to you?" Eames asked, placing a hand on the point man's shoulder. Arthur flinched from the contact before realizing that it was the forger.

"I-I don't know. I thought they were done... they'd already beaten the shit out of me. But they brought in a silver blade, and..." Arthur's voice trailed off as he shuddered, "Kill me Cobb, please. Just do it quickly."

"Arthur open you eyes, I need to see what they did," Cobb said sternly.

"No you don't, just shoot me already. Give me the gun, I'll do it myself." Arthur put out his hand palm up, expectantly.

"Damn it Arthur, just show the man so we can get out of here." Eames grumbled, eyeing the doors warily. The point man sighed before slowly, very slowly, opened his eyes to reveal what Cobb had feared.

Dark, bloody sockets were visible where Arthur's eyes should have been, the tear-like blood still flowing sluggishly down his cheeks making him look like a scene from a horror movie.

"Holy Jesus, Arthur..." Eames covered his mouth, rubbing his face to keep from punching something.

"There, are you happy Cobb? Now please, just... let's leave." Arthur sounded like he was on the verge of tears. He clenched his teeth together, biting on his lower lip.

Ariadne almost jumped three feet in the air when the real Eames let out a loud sniff, "Alright, we can go now. We all know what happens."

"Where do we leave? I was looking around for a door but the only one disappeared right after our memories doubles came through.

"Hey, isn't that a door over there?" Ariadne pointed across the room to a large, metal door in plain sight, "Where did that come from?"

"Interesting. Maybe the memory has to play itself out before the door appears," Cobb mused.

"Oh well that just royally sucks." Eames huffed, crossing the room in a hurry. Ariadne and Cobb followed close behind him, closing the metal door while three gun shots went off behind them.

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**A/N: Sorry for the shortness guys, thanks so much for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6: Nothing Left

**A/N: I'm not dead! I swear! All I can say is thank God for procrastination. If I wasn't suppose to be studying for finals this probably would have happened as quickly and lengthy as it did haha.**

**This sort of came in a flurry of inspiration, and regrettably I do not have a beta for this story, so I beg you to please forgive the probably horrendous grammer mistakes :P**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to everyone whose had continued to read this despite my terrible delay in updates, you guys are amazing :)**

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Chapter 6: Nothing Left

Their running turned into a walk as they entered a dimly lit room, the lighting almost seeming romantic as the faint sound of Latin chanting reached their ears. Ariadne gasped in utter horror as she turned to face the most disturbing image she had ever seen in her life; which was pretty impressive considering what she had just seen.

Arthur was wearing nothing but a loincloth, his hands held out so he was spread eagle with what seemed to be railroad spikes protruding from both of his palms. His feet were bare, laid on top of each other with another spike going through both feet at once. He hung limply from the two pieces of wood nailed together perpendicularly, a band of thorns gracing his head. His face was surprisingly peaceful, and Cobb would have thought him already dead if it weren't for the shallow movements of his chest.

"Holy shit..." Ariadne gaped, "They, they..."

"Yes, darling," Eames answered her unasked question, "They did. It was a band of Roman Catholics that were suspected of using a popular church to hold members of a human trafficking ring. We were trying to extract from the lead Catholic but his projections figured it out; it turns out they had a flair for religious torture."

"That's an understatement," Cobb whispered softly, "Remember where we were? We almost got baptized to death." No sooner had the words left his mouth when a door slammed open, two groups of two men, each holding another man in their grasp stumbling in. A man in a black robe that had been unnoticed stepped forward, addressing the two men being held against their will.

"Now, behold your cause! Behold what you have done!" He thrust an arm toward Arthur, whose eyes had begun to open slightly,

"ARTHUR!" boomed an English accent Ariadne would have known anywhere. All of their heads snapped towards the sound anyways to find a red-in-the-face royally-pissed-off Eames.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU SICK FREAK! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THIS?"

"Our orders come from God, blasphemer," the man in the black cloak said calmly, seemingly ignoring the fact that Eames was about to blow steam out his ears.

Memory-Cobb clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with hatred.

"ARTHUR!" Cobb yelled. Arthur stirred again slightly, his head rising to look at the extractor. He tried to speak, but the pain was too much as he passed out again. Around the two restrained men the followers began to chant,

'_patiatur peccatori morte.__.._ _patiatur peccatori morte..._ _patiatur peccatori morte...' _

"He must suffer the death of a sinner..." Present-Eames whispered, his eyes glistening. Ariadne could only watch in horror as the priest in black revealed a long, barbaric-looking spear from under his clothing.

"Now he shall feel the true wrath of Christ!" The priest yelled, and he thrust the spear into Arthur's sides. Arthur let out a strangled groan out as blood began to pour out onto the floor of the ritual area.

Eames lost it. He cocked his pistol, storming in front of Ariadne with fire in his eyes. The architect quickly jumped in front of him,

"No! Eames, you can't! That's not him, that's not Arthur up there! All that is, is a memory; and you can't change it no matter how much you want to! We have to keep going, for Arthur's sake." Eames stared her down for a second, then let out a huge breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Alright love, let's get out of here. Dom?" Eames looked around, finding Cobb staring in Arthur's direction, the most helpless expression Ariadne had ever seen set across his face. Eames walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, it happened already, no use is seeing it again."

As the memories of Cobb and Eames began to breaking free of their captors, bullets flying freely, the trio made their way across the room to a large metal door that was very obviously not part of the memory.

"Eames, I don't know how much more of this I can take," Cobb sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"It'll be alright, we'll find him; even if we have to shoot every damn projection there is." Ariadne was surprised by the sudden switch of rolls; in one moment, Eames had taken on the role of the responsible leader and guide of the group.

"I know." Cobb replied half-heartedly. Eames half-walked, half-guided Cobb the rest of the way to the door, bracing himself for the next round of pain-filled memories that seemed to have no end.

Their next destination was filled with bleached-white walls and fluorescent lighting bright enough to make a blind man squint. Eames, Cobb, and Ariadne stumbled around; clutching at the walls until their vision returned to normal. When they came to they found their point man chained against the wall, his head down and his entire body limp. Thankfully, he did not seem to have any injuries, internal or external, save for the large bruise on his forehead.

"Oh, well this is a pleasant surprise," Eames said, looking around the room for blood splatter, dirt, or anything else that would have signified previous torture.

"Something tells me it's not going to last long." The words had barely left Cobb's mouth when a pair of sliding glass doors opened with a _whoosh_ on the opposite side of the room. In marched another Cobb-Eames memory duo, except this time they were not carrying guns. They walked with authority across the sterile prison, in-step with each other and stern expressions on their faces.

"Now I'm confused," Eames commented, "I don't remember this at all."

"Neither do I," Cobb replied, the extractor studying their doppelgangers.

As the memory of Cobb and Eames came to a halt in front of Arthur, they made no move to unchain him from the wall. Instead, Eames knelt down in front of the point man, lifting his chin up and patting him lightly on the face.

"Wake up, love," He said quietly. The point man began to stir, his face scrunching in pain from the bright lights before he began to open his eyes.

"Eames...? Cobb...? How'd you guys get here...?"

"It wasn't hard; the mark's mind is relatively simple." Cobb said; crossing his arms and giving a twisted smile.

"Alright. Let me out of these so we can leave. The layout of the mark's mind may be simple, but his projections pack one hell of a punch." Arthur winced as the bruise on his head began to throb.

"I'm afraid we can't do that darling," Eames continued, "You see, we know you gave the mark information about us. We know you told him about our employer." Eames cracked his knuckles.

"What? What are talking about? I never told anyone-" The point man was cut off as Eames decked him across the face. Arthur's head snapped against the wall, a small amount of blood escaping from his chapped lips.

"DAMMIT! What the hell, Eames? What was that for?"

Dom sneered down at the chained man, "Save it Arthur. It's too late. You double-crossed us, and you know how we feel about spies." Eames punched Arthur across the face again, following by Cobb giving him a hard kick in the ribs. Arthur clenched his teeth; the man knew how to kick. Back in the present, the current Eames and Cobb stared at the scene in shock, their mouths open wide enough to catch bugs. Ariadne turned towards them with fury in her eyes.

"What the hell is this? You _beat_ him?"

"I-I-I-" Cobb struggled with forming a complete sentence.

"Love, we never did this..." Eames whispered, watching in horror as he and Dom seemingly beat the shit out of their point man and friend.

"What? Then what's going on here?" Ariadne asked.

"I honestly have no idea." The forger said, unable to look away as Dom threw punch after punch at Arthur's head, ribs, and anything else he could find. Arthur's protests grew weaker and weaker until he began to make no noise at all. Ariadne looked up at Cobb in confusion, finding the extractor frozen in place, also unable to move or take his eyes off of the scene.

Past-Eames and Cobb stood straight; Eames pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off of his knuckles.

"So Arthur, anything left to say for yourself?" Dom barked.

Arthur coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth onto his now-tattered suit, "I never did anything... please, just stop... I'm sorry."

Memory-Eames narrowed his eyes, "Don't beg. It just makes you look weaker than you already are." He pulled a gun out of his suit, cocking it and aiming at Arthur stomach.

"Eames, please! Just kill me already!" Arthur stared up at the forger; his eyes wide in fear and betrayal.

"But if we do that then we can't leave before you wake up." Cobb said, his eyes emotionless.

"I'm not a fucking spy!" Arthur's eyes flashed with anger before a shot rang out.

Arthur stared up at the two of them, a tear running down his cheek before he passed out cold, red blossoming around his abdomen. Cobb and Eames looked at each other for a brief moment before walking to the right. Cobb placed his hand on the wall, revealing a hidden elevator. The two walked in and the door shut behind them, leaving Arthur for dead.

In the corner, the actual Eames and Cobb were about to have a coronary.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Eames stammered, still in shock over seeing himself shoot the point man at nearly point-bank range.

"I don't know Eames, something's not right." Cobb searched around the room for something, anything that would help them figure out why Arthur has a memory of them killing him brutally when they never did.

"Wait, look!" Ariadne pointed to the doors at the far side of the cell. Stumbling in, guns out and expressions grim, came yet another forger and extractor.

"Arthur! Damn it we're too late." The third Eames growled, the extractor by his side darting across the room until his was right in front of the bloodied point man. He took Arthur's head in his hands, brushing back his hair and feeling his neck for a pulse. Even from across the room, Ariadne could see this Cobb's relief when he found one. Dom quickly patted Arthur's cheek, willing him to wake up. The other Eames jogged across the room, stopping when he saw Arthur's beaten form and the gun shot in his stomach.

"Dom, why don't we just kill him now? It'd be better for him not to wake up at this point."

The extractor sighed, "I know, but we don't know what they put him through, I don't want him to wake up distorted and confused, he could hurt any of us or himself. Arthur? Arthur!" Cobb called, until the point man finally began to awaken again. His eyes opened and when he saw Cobb and Eames looming over him, he backed up into the wall, ignoring the dull throbbing in his stomach.

"Stay away from me!"

"Arthur, ssh, it's alright darling. It's us!" Eames knelt down next to Cobb, trying to help the extractor restrain the point man.

"I told you I'm not a spy!" Arthur cried out through clenched teeth.

"What? We know you're not a spy, Arthur. What are you talking about?" Cobb questioned. Arthur looked from Cobb, to Eames, and then back to Cobb before he stopped struggling against them. Something clicked inside his head,

"N-nothing. Nevermind."

"Why would we think you were a spy, love?" Eames stared at the point man in confusion.

"It's nothing, forget about it. Can you just get me out of here?" Arthur grimaced as the wound it his stomach made it's presence known to him again.

"Sure, whatever you say," Eames replied back warily, pulling out his pistol, "Would you like me to do the honors?"

Arthur winced again, "Just make it quick."

Ariadne looked away as the three shots filled the room, followed by the sickening _thump_ of dead weight hitting the floor.

"So, the first Cobb and Eames weren't real? They weren't even you two?" She asked the extractor and forger. Cobb met eyes with the Brit, his face weary,

"No. The mark must have had forgers or projections trained to copy images."

"Bloody hell. Arthur never even said anything..." Eames stared at the three bodies that now lay motionless, the red blood even more prominent against the spotlessly clean room.

"So now what?" Ariadne asked, looking around, "Where's the door?"

The room remained white and barren, save for the crimson stains in the back of it. Eames walked across the room slowly, his mind in a daze from what had just occurred. He felt along the wall when the projections had exited, when suddenly the wall moved again with a smooth _whoosh_, revealing to them a dank elevator.

"Cobb! Ariadne! I think this is our way out!" Eames called. Cobb turned around and nearly laughed in relief when he saw Eames stepping warily into the elevator. No more would he have to endure seeing his friend tortured and killed over and over again without being able to do anything about it.

"Oh thank God," Ariadne gasped and ran towards Eames. Cobb followed swiftly behind as they all crammed into the tiny shaft. A dim bulb was their only source of light as the elevator groan loudly and began to crawl downwards.

"Alright ladies and gents, this is it. It's almost certain that down here is where they're keeping Arthur. This is the deepest level of Arthur's subconscious before reaching Limbo. We need to be prepared for anything." Eames locked eyes with Ariadne and Cobb in turn, the fire in them blazing brighter than the dying bulb lighting their way as they continued to descend into the depths of Arthur's mind.

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**A/N: I hope these aren't too weird... Please let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7: 19 Years

**A/N: Um... hey guys... so yeah, it's been awhile. If anyone reads this I applaud and respect you, you are truly dedicated. Anyways, there seems to be about two more chapters to go after this one, I can personally promise you it won't be another year before I finish, I swear. Thanks for reading, truly. Review if you want, see you 'round ;)**

**IYD24**

**PS: I got a big 'project' in the making for my next fic... what do you guys know about St. John Allerdyce and Bobby Drake?**

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**Chapter 7: 19 Years**

599,184,000 seconds.

166,440 hours.

6,935 days.

19 years.

_19 fucking years._

'_I'm in hell, I'm sure of it. I'm finally paying the price for every stolen peace of information, every life ruined for money, every damn person caught in the crossfire. This is my punishment for... hell I don't even remember what I did that caused me to do all those things. All I remember is being a thief, a killer, and a bounty hunter..._

_19 years... I wonder if I had people that helped me, or if I worked for them... gotta try and remember... men, two men... one of them was British, I think... damn it, why's it so hard to remember? Oh wait, because it's been close to two damn decades. And a girl, there was a girl... wait, a girl and a women... no, the women's not around anymore. But the girl... she was nice, smart... I think. I kissed her once, didn't I? On a job..._

_Don't know why I'm trying to remember all of the sudden... I think, I think something's changing. The civilians, they're getting more frantic. The business men, they're fighting harder... Gah, way harder. God damn it, I didn't know more pain was possible. Why aren't I fucking dead yet? Oh wait, I am... I'm in hell. I have been for the past 19 fucking years...'_

Eames, Cobb, and Ariadne could here Arthur's screams before they had even reached the ground. What they didn't expect, however, was that his scream was accompanied by several dozen other various yells, cries, and grunts. The trio looked below them to find what seemed to be a riot taking place. Bodies littered the floor, blood spattered on the walls of what seemed to be a very large warehouse, almost as big as an airplane hanger.

"You see Arthur anywhere?" Eames yelled, searching the mass for their beloved point man.

"I don't see him!" Ariadne cried.

"Neither do I, looks like we'll have to fight our way through!" Cobb yelled over the on-going disturbance. The elevator reached the bottom with a _ding_, the petite, fragile-looking railings sliding open. Eames and Cobb immediately dispensed into the crowd, Ariadne following closely behind.

It was surprisingly easy to fight their way through the riot, seeing as every person they saw stared at them in utter confusion before being killed in some horribly brutal way. As they went on they found the two sides of the riot to be men in business suits against people in normal, every day clothes. Unfortunately, since they didn't know which ones Demetri had planted inside Arthur's mind, they didn't want to risk killing either of them.

"So, explain this to me again. Demetri planted something into Arthur's mind, and the projections know it doesn't belong, but the rest of Arthur doesn't know that?" Ariadne questioned, panting as she squished between people to keep up with the extractor and forger.

"Yes, Ariadne," Eames grunted, shoving a large man out of his way.

"So, essentially, Arthur's mind is killing itself?"

"Precisely. Arthur's mind thinks the planted information is critical to its existence, if it dies so does Arthur's mind. When really it is the one hurting Arthur more than his mind can imagine. It's basically like Stockholm syndrome." Eames frowned as the words came out of his mouth, trying not to picture his friend as a tortured victim clinging to his captor. Stockholm syndrome scared him beyond belief. The idea that someone could actually care for the person that was harming them the most... it made him shiver.

"EAMES! I FOUND HIM!" Cobb's voice came through clear, even amongst all the projections. "HE'S IN THE UPPER LEFT SIDE!"

Eames growled, a new rage building inside him as bullets began to empty from his pistol, quickly finding refuge in the skulls of anyone that dared stand in the forger's way.

"Eames, stop it! You could be hurting Arthur!" Ariadne pleaded as she followed the parting of projections.

"I don't care anymore! We need him back!" Eames roared. He punched a man in the face hard enough to crack the skull as the man dropped lifelessly.

'_He's gone,' _Ariadne thought to herself.

They finally made their way to the far corner of the room. Eames stopped short, his frenzy cut off by the sight that awaited them.

Cobb was fighting with a man in a suit (Whom the three had assumed was Demetri's doing) while three other business-type looking men were beating a middle-aged man chained to the wall of the warehouse. The middle-aged man groaned, his face caked with blood, burns, and gore. His legs looked like they were both broken in several spots and his right arm seemed to be dangling from the shackle at an odd angle. His outfit consisted of gray slacks torn at both knees, revealing a sight of blue and black flesh that was anything but natural; a shirt that may at some point have been white, but that was long gone; and a vest, torn open (along with the shirt) to find numerous carvings into the chest of the man. Whether they were words or drawings was unknowable though, for there was far too much bruising and burning to tell where one injury ended and the other began.

"Eames! Stop them! Stop them now!" Cobb's voice fell on deaf ears as he desperately tried to keep the rabid business man at bay with, if possible, not hurting him.

Ariadne was the first to snap out of it, snatching a gun out off her holster and stalking over to the business men attacking their friends.

"Get off of him!" She screamed, shooting one of them in the head. To her surprise, a loud scream of pain erupted from the bloodied and broken middle-aged man. He gritted his teeth and opened his eyelids to face her, his brown eyes overflowing with anger.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? DON'T YOU _DARE_ KILL THEM YOU _WHORE_!" His words were like a slap in the face to Ariadne. She stood there, dumbfounded, until one of the business men decided to tackle her to the ground, wrestling for her gun.

The man's words were what seemed to bring Eames out of his dazed state. That, and a punch to the face given to him by yet another one of the men in suits. Eames growled again, quickly killing the man, earning another shriek for the man in chains.

Cobb, who had successfully disarmed and disabled his opponent without killing him, looked over to see what had caused the restrained man to explode with agony. Dread filled him when he saw Eames and Ariadne mercilessly killing the men in suits, the chained man absolutely writhing in pain.

"EAMES! ARIADNE! STOP IT! YOU'RE KILLING ARTHUR!" He shouted. The two stopped short and turned to him, confusion written across their faces.

"These are what Demetri planted in Arthur's head! He thinks he's dying every time you kill one of them!" Cobb's eyes flared as he made his way over to what could only be their point man. Hopefully the man they had reached was the same man they had been looking for.

Ariadne and Eames helped Cobb shoot the shackles off of the man who looked many years older than the extractor or the forger, and carry him to an enclosed area of the warehouse that seemed untouched by the chaos ensuing around them.

The middle-aged man tensed with the relatively new pain throbbing in every inch of his God-forsaken body. Everywhere from his broken feet to his bruised and bloodied head seemed to be pulsing to a point where he feared he would simply detonate right there. He stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to wrap his mind around the new feeling coursing through him.

"A-Arthur? Darling? Is that really you?" Eames stared at the man tentatively, as if fearing another projection.

"Fine, fine. If that's what you'd like to call me now then let's say Arthur." The man panted.

"Arthur, it's us. It's Dom, Eames, and Ariadne," Cobb extended a hand to place on the man's shoulder, but then reconsidered and placed it on the cold, cement floor.

"I don't care who you are, just get it over with. Though I must say, you're most casual-looking business men... and woman to grace me with your presence so far."

Eames couldn't tell if Arthur was sarcastic or not, and that was scaring him far than he thought it would. He looked up to Dom for guidance,

"Well, Dom? Do we shoot him now?"

"Shooting? Haven't you run out of places to shoot me already?" Arthur's scratchy voice came from beneath them. Dom looked down at the point man in sorrow before answering,

"No, we can't. They've probably made his body unable to perish. The only thing we can do is kill the head of the projections Demetri's placed here." Arthur's eyes flashed up at this,

"NO! You can't do that! You CANNOT kill him! I swear if you so much as lay a hand on him you son of a bitch I will kick your ass!"

Ariadne stood up from where she was crouched on the ground near Arthur's legs, searching the warehouse for a business man standing apart from the rest. It did not take her long; standing atop the balcony, looking like a statue of the finest granite, was the very projection that had captured Arthur back on the plane. His dress was simple: grey slacks, grey jacket, bowler hat, and a pink and yellow-striped tie. His brown hair slicked back down to the nape of his neck, exposing his chiseled jaw line and faint stubble. His faintly hooked nose was flared in a display of content, his green-grey eyes glittering as he surveyed the chaos that ensued below him.

"I see him," Ariadne said flatly.

Eames, Cobb, and Arthur followed her gaze; Arthur let out a slight hiss of fear, awe, and anguish.

"We have to go," Cobb ordered, "Ariadne, you stay here with Arthur. Don't listen to anything he says. If he starts screaming... well, there's nothing we can do." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his jacket pocket as Eames did the same. The trio carried Arthur over to a metal railing and the forger and extractor proceeded to cuff him to the bars.

"Sorry old chap," Eames said solemnly, "I know you're not usually into this kind of thing." Arthur just grumbled in response, tired of this petty foreplay to whatever torture they had planned.

Ariadne grabbed Cobb's arm before he stood up, "Please," she begged, "Let's get out of here, fast." Dom nodded, standing up and talking off towards the projection with Eames at his side.

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**A/N 2: Again, if you read this, review so I can reply and personally thank you for sticking by this far! I've been getting the urge to watch Inception again... I started watching the Dark Shadows marathon on Chiller and guess who was in it? Joseph Gordon-Levitt! He was 10! It's adorable! IYD24**


	8. Chapter 8: Going Down Swingin

**A/N: Yes, yes, I know. I have no concept of time. I wanted to hold back on the chapter even though I've had it written for a little bit, just because I still need to finish most of the next (and possibly last) chapter, but never fear! It shall be done. If you notice a slight change in my writing style (swearing, etc.) the only thing I can blame it on is me growing and my mindset changing. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.**

**A very special thanks to everyone who's added this to their alerts/favorites even after it's been almost a year, you guys show real loyalty, and that's one of the best qualities a person could have in my own opinion. Thank you MillyGlassWing.32.96 for giving me the final kick in the butt to upload this, thank you E galz for your kind words, and many many thanks to ladybug114 who pushed me to even finish this chapter.**

**I love every review you guys give, there's really no other feeling like it.**

**Alright, I'll shut up now, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8: Going Down Swingin'**

There was something, something truly poetic about chaos, the way that particles flew and collided in a random fashion. There was no telling what would happen next, yet at the same time it was all quite predictable.

Although, that might have been because Tommy controlled every aspect of it.

Yes, controlled chaos was only of the few things which gave Tommy's empty life meaning. He knew he didn't have much in his 19 years of living (or rather, existing), but he knew why he was here and what his goal was. '_Isn't that all anyone could ask for?' _Tommy thought to himself; then he realized he didn't know, he had never met anyone else.

He smiled as he heard his captive scream, the sound filling him with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Of course he did not know why, but he knew he was doing the right thing. Suddenly, the scream cut off. He looked over the metal railing which towered over the warehouse to find three figures interfering with the process. They confused Tommy. This was not normal behavior, this had never happened before.

This was interesting.

He watched the scene fold out, wincing as his men were taken down but reveling in the captive's screams and curses which followed; he hadn't heard the man scream like that in a _long_ time. Eventually the three figures won, and they dragged the captive away from his position and behind a pile of boxes where he could not see. Tommy scowled, already fed up with this plot twist. He stormed into his office, grabbing a telephone and dialing a number which he did not know he knew, but doing it all the same.

"_Yes?_" came a memorably unfamiliar voice.

"Compromise. Repeat, this mission is compromised. Sound the alarm, we're going down swingin'." Tommy slammed the mouth of the telephone onto the receiver. _'Well damn,' _he thought,_ 'and everything was going so well.' _

Back on the ground, Ariadne attempted not to make eye contact with the deranged point man while he shifted back and forth, jittering like an abused animal. He gave her a once over before staring at the ceiling, "So they finally brought you back, eh? If you ask me, you've gotten soft."

Ariadne looked at Arthur incredulously, "What are you talking about?"

"You," Arthur pointed out as if it were the obvious thing in the world, "I finally remembered where I know you guys from. You were only of the first they sent to me. After the first few rounds of the basics, they sent you, the British asshole, and the grumpy one to break out the colorful stuff. I can't remember for the life of me, but you guys managed to break me down without even touching me. Don't remember how of course. Or... maybe I do. I don't know, they all kind of meld together after awhile."

Ariadne just stared at Arthur in horror, "Arthur, what happened to you?"

"Everything you know and more. I don't know how often you guys talk to each other." This was more than the architect could bear. Hearing Arthur so... broken, weary, resolved. It was like speaking to a different person.

Ariadne got onto her knees and looked the middle-aged man right in the eyes, "Arthur, you have to listen to me, you have to understand. This isn't real. This isn't the real world, none of it. My name is Ariadne, remember? I'm an architect. I came here with Cobb and Eames. Eames is a forger; Cobb is the head of the team. You were very close friends with both of them." Something unreadable flashed behind Arthur's eyes, so Ariadne decided to keep going.

"You met Dom many years ago; you two have worked jobs for years. You were the best man at his wedding when he married Mal, do you remember her? You're the godfather of his daughter, Phillipa and his son, James. Then you guys met Eames, you hated him. He never followed the rules and he never had a plan. You guys were a family. Please, Arthur, you have to remember!"

Arthur blinked once, twice, then:

"You know, this is the most elaborate plot you guys have even come up with."

Ariadne groaned, tears of frustration beginning to fall down her cheeks, "Arthur, PLEASE! How can you not remember any of this?! Mal's suicide? Do you remember that? Dom's depression? Eames' intervention? Me?! How can you not remember any of us, Arthur?!" It one last, futile attempt to bring him back, Ariadne grabbed Arthur's jaw, hastily bringing him in for a kiss. It was short, but passionate. She let go of him, searching his eyes for something, anything.

He looked at her in shock, "...Well, _that's_ never happened before."

Ariadne groaned, _'This is hopeless,_' she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Tommy frantically searched his office for files which he didn't realize had existed until he spotted two figures making there way towards him with murder in their eyes, the kind usually reserved for his prisoner. Those men, they were not a part of his plan. They did not belong in his world. '_Who are they?'_

Finally, in a cabinet he'd always seen but never really acknowledged, he pulled out two files. The first was a picture of a short but handsome man, the kind of handsome that could get him anyone he wanted, male or female, even without being drop-dead gorgeous. He had heavy stubble, kind eyes, and a sharp suit. What struck Tommy as odd, though, was the lack of information on the man, despite the crystal clear photo. Only three things were printed adjacent to his photo:

WARNING:

ACCOMPLICE

DANGEROUS

FORGER

The next file seemed almost identical. This man seemed younger in the face, but older in the eyes. Softer features, paternal, but with an air that almost screamed "I've got something hidden". His description was similar to the first man's:

WARNING:

ACCOMPLICE

HIGHLY DANGEROUS

MASTER OF EXTRACTION

This was bad, and Tommy knew it. He knew it could only last for so long. In some part of his mind his knew he should be scared, he should be worried for what's to come, for what happens to him after this, but he didn't. He had only one thought in his head as he heard the tell-tale _click_ of the door handle,

'_Complete the mission. Kill the intruders.'_

Cobb and Eames didn't entirely know what they should have been expecting when they walked into the warehouse office, but it certainly wasn't this. The same man they had seen from the ground floor below looked up at them from some folders in a panic, but the next moment, he was gone. In his place stood none other than Arthur, a little weary around the eyes and a bruise on his temple, but Arthur none the less.

"Cobb..." Eames started,

"I don't know." Dom never took his eyes off of the point man, not for one second. He'd been surprised and appalled enough for a lifetime, so to say he was cautious would be a heavy understatement.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here? You're not supposed to get here till tomorrow." Arthur looked at them with confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?!" Cobb demanded, raising his gun at the imposter.

Arthur's hands shot up in surrender, "Hey, hey, hey! What the hell's gotten into you? What's going on?"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" the extractor yelled. He knew this wasn't really Arthur. All he had to do was pull the trigger, that's it. Yet this man's looks, his mannerisms, they were all so _Arthur_, so unlike the man they had found below...

Arthur's eyes flickered, so quickly it was almost impossible to notice, before locking eyes with his boss, "Cobb, please. This is real, this is me. I'm begging you."

Eames didn't know how to feel, he was so torn between shooting this man and embracing him. He wanted so badly for this to be Arthur, to be able to recognize his friend. Arthur's eyes flickered again before turning to the forger, "Eames?" He began to walk towards the Brit, keeping his hands up until his was right in front of him, "Please, Eames. You know this isn't right. You're better than this. You can beat this. Just put the gun away."

"_Oh God his eyes..."_ those same brown eyes he had looked to, relied on, killed with for years and they looked so damn familiar. There was no way this wasn't Arthur...

BANG!

A shot rang out, causing twin screams: one from the young man in front of him, and another, much more agonizing scream coming from outside the window. Arthur fell to the ground, clutching his thigh.

"Cobb, what the bloody hell are you doing?!" Eames stared in horror at his coworker.

"Come on Eames, that's not Arthur and you know it! Stop lying to yourself and look at him!"

Eames returned his gaze to the young man curled up on the ground, whimpering and clutching his leg.

"If he was from Demetri, how did he know our names?" Eames asked almost absent-mindedly. The answer was obvious, but something in Eames was breaking. This was all becoming too much. He couldn't think, his emotions were like a shorting electrical box.

"He has access to all of Arthur's memories and thoughts. Come on Eames, you know this!" Cobb repeated. This gained a response from the man on the floor. The projection of Arthur snapped his head up, still him but instead of Arthur's brown eyes, clear grey-green ones pierced the gaze of the two standing men. It was a subtle, yet terrifying difference.

"I sure do," Arthur began, giggling as he clutched his leg, "do you want to know what he _really_ thinks of you? Or at least, how he thought of you? Because I doubt he'll even remember now...Hmm? What about you, Cobb?" Cobb looked startled at this creature in front of them, who was the spitting image of their friend a moment ago but now looked at them with none of Arthur's kindness, none of his tactfulness, and certainly none of his youth.

The projection laughed, "You'd think a man whom Arthur looked up to as a father would treat him better than you did. He did everything for you and what did you do? You threw it all in his face! Even when your wife was _dead_ you still chose her over him. You're nothing but a sniffling, angst-ridden, lovesick, dog! It took Arthur a while to realize it, he really was fond of you, but after the, what? Eighth time being killed by your wife? He figured out exactly where you stood; exactly the kind of man you were. He put on a little show to keep you happy while you treated him like shit! 'Arthur, spend eight hours a night on research so we don't have to,' 'Arthur, go out in front so you get killed and we don't,' 'Arthur, come talk to my kids because they like you better than their _fucking father_!'"

Cobb looked like he'd just been slapped. He could do nothing but stand there, frozen, with his gun raised and his eyes tight. Eames knew he had to do something; otherwise they'd both die right here.

"Hey, Cobb, listen. He's not real, right? That's what you just said. He's just a-"

"And _you_!" Arthur spun his head around so he was looking up at the forger with those disturbingly light eyes, "You piece of shit just had to make everything worse, didn't you?! You idiotic, arrogant, prick! Who did you think you were, just strolling in and chumming up to Arthur like he was your long-lost kid brother?! You are a pathetic, self-centered, ego-centric bastard who thinks that they can get whatever they want by flashing a pretty smile. The only, _only_ time Arthur felt _anything_ but contempt for you was when he found you nearly dead in an alleyway, and you know what he felt then? Pity. Pity for the most worthless man he had ever met in his life."

'_This is taking way too long, something's not right, something's definitely not right,'_ Ariadne thought as she looked to the closed window of the office for the fifth time in the past thirty seconds. She thought she had heard a gunshot ring out, but nothing had changed. She was still in the warehouse of Arthur's mind as he struggled uselessly against the chains. He began mumbling, which Ariadne at first gave no heed, until she realized he was mumbling names, familiar names:

"Cobb? Cobb... Mal... chosen, over me... no, wait, no... Eames... worthless, arrogant prick. No, no that's not right... what's happening?... warehouse... factory... plant... planted... mission... Dom... Dem?... Demi... Demitri? DEMETRI." Suddenly Arthur's eyes flew open wide in recognition, "ARIADNE!"

The architect looked at him suspiciously, fighting back the hope desperately trying to claw out of her chest, "A-Arthur?"

He didn't even look at her, his eyes locking with the office warehouse as memories flooded his system, he didn't care if they were wrong. This felt different, if this was another trick in hell then fuck it, he didn't care. This felt right.

"DOM! EAMES!"

A voice from outside the room seemed to snap the two extractors out of their daze.

"Arthur?" Eames sounded skeptical and, though he would deny it, a bit scared.

"NO!" The projection gnashed his teeth in frustration, "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"

"Well, it seems our little darling is even smarter than you, now doesn't it?" the forger smiled, raising his pistol, "And I'll bet you thought he was just a skinny kid with a gun, didn't you?"

He did not give the projection time to respond, planting a bullet squarely between his eyes.

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**A/N: I know, I know. I swear the final scene is coming! Probably one more chapter and maybe an epilogue. I really want to run with the intervention idea for Eames, what do you think?**


	9. Chapter 9: Reality Check

**A/N: _Surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me._**

**I'm not even going to waste my time with an author's note at the beginning, but I will tell you that I have the best and most faithful fans in all of creation.**

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Chapter 9: Riding the Wave

"Arthur?! Arthur, what's going on?!" Ariadne backed up from the point man who was writhing around on the floor, clutching his head with mangled hands. Suddenly, an abrupt _crack_ sounded from the floor of the warehouse. All other sounds died down until the silence was deafening as the battle between businessmen and civilians halted. After a few moments of impregnated silence, a crevice erupted in the floor of the warehouse, immediately swallowing up some of the projections and throwing others clear across the room. The walls bent and groaned under the change. Windows shattered all around. Ariadne knew they only had seconds, maybe a minute, before the entire structure would collapse on top of them.

"Eames?! Cobb?!" the two were no where in sight. She looked back at Arthur, who was still convulsing on the concrete. "Arthur, please. You have to tell me what to do."

Arthur groaned, trying to concentrate on the architect, the location of his friends, the collapsing building, anything besides the ungodly amount of _pain_ he was feeling. However, amidst his agony he realized it was a different kind of pain, an emptier pain. A foreign emotion bubbled up into his chest, an emotion he had dared not feel for years upon years of torture. He could have laughed. His head snapped towards Ariadne,

"Kill me," he ordered, "Do it right now."

Ariadne's eyes widened in confusion, "What? Arthur, it can't be that easy…"

"It can! Don't you see?" Arthur took his hands off of his head despite the pain wracking his body, "the shot. They must have shot the leader. If he's dead, he can't hold me here anymore. Shoot me and this level collapses."

"Arthur, this isn't a fucking level we're talking about! This is _you_. Your mind, your subconscious." Ariadne's fingered fumbled with the gun in her hand. She couldn't, she wouldn't.

"No, you don't get it! It IS just a level. Without Demetri here this is just another manifestation of my dreams! Just shoot me, Ariadne, please. Trust me. Everything's going to be alright." Arthur pleaded with her, his eyes showing nothing but raw honestly mingled with pain. Ariadne didn't know what to do; she wanted to trust Arthur so badly, but after everything that had happened she just couldn't risk harming him further, and where the hell were Cobb and Eames?! An explosion sounded behind them as projections who were able to escape the crevice in the floor began to be crushed by falling debris and fire.

"Ariadne, please. If you don't kill me the building is going to collapse and that will be much more painful," Arthur's tone grew desperate. He was finally beginning to taste his freedom and he wasn't going to let anyone, even his teammate, get in the way.

"I-I-I-" she stammered, looking around frantically for the forger and extractor.

'_Oh for fuck's sake…' _Arthur thought to himself. His bloodied leg shot out from under him, catching the architect in the stomach. He gritted his teeth as broken bones shifted and tore the muscle under the skin, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore as the tell-tale sound of a gun hitting the floor consumed his focus. The key to his release from this hell was right in front of him. His deformed and destroyed body stretched as far as it would go. Right before he swore he would pass out from the pain his toe caught the end of the weapon. If he were a tougher man he would have attempted to stop himself from crying but the time for being stoic had long passed. A giggle escaped his lips as his tears impeded his vision to the point where he almost couldn't cock the gun. Almost. A chunk of concrete landed not four feet away from where he was handcuffed, a cloud of smoke and dust enveloping the surrounding area. An explosion shook the floor. A shot rang out.

Smoke filled her nose as consciousness slammed into her once more. Ariadne looked around, seeing nothing but smoke and rubble. She couldn't see Cobb, Arthur, or even a projection. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears. She tried to move but found her leg caught underneath a slab of concrete. Pain shot up her thigh.

_CRACK!_

Ariadne looked upwards in horror. The balcony which Cobb and Eames had disappeared into was falling forwards, its support beams no longer up to the task. As it crashed into the floor below Ariadne could only hope that her two teammates had died quickly and that they were somewhere in the point man's mind that they could escape from. At the thought of the point man Ariadne suddenly began to scan the surrounding area when she noticed her handgun was missing.

'_Oh no...'_ she tried to convince herself that it was just lost among the debris but she knew better. Another _crack_ resounded, this time from the ceiling. Ariadne's eyes followed the sound to see a large piece of the warehouse rapidly growing larger above her head.

'_Well, here goes nothing. I hope Arthur-'_

Eames sucked in as much air as he could manage, his eyes flying open, expecting to find the crumbling remains of the warehouse. Instead, he found himself lying on a wooden floor, sunlight streaming in from a window above his head. He sat up in the blink of an eye, assessing his surroundings in short, rapid movements. Cobb and Ariadne were on the floor, a small boy lying next to them. None of them were awake, but since they did not seem injured either Eames took a moment to finally relax, seeing as there was no immediate danger. The room itself was quite domestic, if not a bit disheveled. An amoire lay in the corner, the shelves broken-

Ariadne regained consciousness just as the reality of the situation threatened to knock Eames on his back. She whipped her head around before her gaze landed on the dazed forger.

"Eames!" she yelled, "He shot himself! We only have seconds before-" a deafening groan cut out her voice as the framework of the house lurched dangerously. The two looked around the room as cracks rapidly started to run up the plaster. Not wanting to be crushed again, Ariadne only gave Eames a meaningful glance before pulling her handgun out and placing it under her chin.

"Ariadne, wait! How do you know he shot himself? How do you know he's not on this level? How-" Eames' breath began to speed up. He had come too far to lose Arthur now.

"I don't know, but I know we can't stay here. Just go!" the architect wasted no more time before pulling the trigger and securing herself into reality, or so they hoped.

The house momentarily stopped shaking and everything fell eerily silent. Eames shifted his weight until he was sitting on the floor. He covered his mouth with his hand, letting his fingers run over the rough stubble of his chin. He felt so lost, so utterly unsure of everything. He didn't know where Arthur was, where Ariadne was, whether either of them were alright. Hell, he didn't even know where _he_ was. For all he knew this was just another trick of Demetri's. A pat on the head brought Eames out of his own thoughts. He brought his gaze up to rest on the face of a small boy, no more than eight years old, with big, brown eyes.

"Excuse me, sir? I think you should leave. It's not safe here." The boy seemed concerned but not afraid, despite the walls splintering around them.

"Arthur?" Eames whispered. In theory, any projections still alive should be furious; this boy should be trying to kill him.

"Yes, sir. Please, you need to go. Now." The boy's brown eyes shone brightly before another large crack appeared in the wall. Standing up, the boy stared at him in exasperation. "Please!" he cried one more time before running out the door. Eames just sat there, stunned. He wanted to chase after the child, yet deep inside he knew that this was not the version of Arthur that needed saving.

Cobb awoke with a pounding headache to find the forger standing over him. It took him less than a second to realize he had a gun to his temple.

"Let's go get our point man, love." Eames smiled.

_BANG!_

Over the years, Cobb had lost the ability to feel rested after sleep, if he managed to sleep at all. The job required him to be alert the moment he open his eyes, and this time was no different. Yet, in all his life, he could not recall a time where the cheap patterns of hotel wallpaper had made him feel so relieved. For a moment, fear clenched in his gut as he thrust his hand into the pocket of his slacks, pulling out his top and searching for the nearest flat surface, which in this case happened to be the bathroom counter. The longer the top spun the more anxious the extractor became, but much to his relief the top wobbled and soon fell on its side, rapidly spinning in circles on its axis from the momentum.

Whispers from the other room caught Cobb's attention as he walked back towards the bed he had woken up by. Eames stood over the young point man, one knee on the bed, shaking his shoulder gently. Ariadne stood against the wall, clearly having to restrain herself from joining the Brit at Arthur's side. Arthur's eyes were open, yet he did not seem to register anything the forger was saying or doing; he just stared blankly up at the ceiling. Dom's heart sank.

'_No, no… it can't be, not after everything we went through...' _Cobb felt tears prick in the back of his eyes as he approached the bedside.

"Arthur, darling, please answer me. It's over, everything's over. You're awake. This is real," Eames continued to beg the point man for a response, a reflex, anything. Arthur lay motionless.

Eventually Cobb came up behind the forger, placing a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder, "Come on, Eames. You knew this could happen," he murmured, feeling numb.

"No," Eames half-sobbed, half-growled at the extractor, "he's going to be alright. He has to be. He can't…" his words trailed off as he grudgingly let Cobb pull him away from the bed and lead him to a chair, tears trailing down his face. Cobb returned to Arthur's side, placing a hand against the point man's cheek, running his thumb under his brown, unseeing eyes. Ariadne sank to the floor, bringing both hands up to her mouth as her face was distorted into acute but silent grief, her agony only audible when she was forced to suck air in through her lips. This was the only sound in the room for several minutes. Cobb leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, willing himself to keep his composure. His thoughts were plagued by memories of Arthur, Mal, his children (_Oh god, what would he tell his children?_) , and the mission. _'Why did I agree to take the mission in the first place? What could I have done differently? How could I let this happen?'_ He couldn't bring himself to accept it; it still all felt surreal and for once Cobb did not reach into his pocket to bring himself back. He couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to accept that he had lost yet _another_ member of his family. It was too much.

After nearly an hour of silence, Cobb stood up, walking in the direction of the forger, "We'll need to make arrangements, come up with a story: car accident, severe brain damage, something along those lines. We'll need to find a hospital, somewhere close…"

Eames, whose eyes had yet to leave Arthur's motionless form, finally broke away to look at the extractor in disbelief, "What? What are you talking about? We can't just leave him like that! It's- It's-"

"It's what, Eames?" Cobb desperately tried to stamp out the emotions which threatened to overtake him, "What would you have us do, huh? Just kill him?!"

"It would be better than leaving him like this for the rest of his life!"

"Why don't you do it then?!" Eames stood up, anger flaring in his gut.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Ariadne cried. The two men looked over, having nearly forgotten about the architect sitting against he wall. Eames stared at her a moment before visibly deflating, taking a few heavy steps to sit on the bed near the point man. Cobb remained standing, his fists clenched.

"Fine," Dom muttered, "but we can't use a gun. It's too messy. We'll take him somewhere away from any buildings, somewhere where we can bury him." This caused Ariadne to erupt in another fit of sobs.

Eames brushed a strand of hair behind the young man's ear, "Oh, Arthur. Love. How could you do this to us?" He stared at him a moment more before leaning over and pressing his lips to the point man's forehead. A second later, Eames felt the skin under his lips scrunch up and crumple.

"Damn it, Eames, how many times have I told you not to do that?" A small voice came from underneath him. The forger jumped back to be met with a pair of weary brown eyes staring back at him.

"Arthur?" he gaped.

The point man smirked.

"Oh, Artie it IS you! Oh bloody hell you had us worried sick, mate!" Eames laughed, wrapping his arms around the man's thin frame. Ariadne gasped, finding herself unable to do anything else but sit there and stare. Cobb's eyes widened to the size of saucers before he bounded over to the side of the bed and joined Eames in enveloping the point man.

"And I told you to stop calling me Artie, too," came Arthur's voice, muffled by his friends' embrace. When they finally let go Arthur sat up, turning to look at the architect still staring at him in disbelief.

"It's… it's really you, isn't it?" Ariadne stammered.

Arthur smiled, "It is."

Ariadne laughed, standing up and running to hug the point man, hugging him as if her life depended on it. Eames rubbed his hand across the man's back, more for his sake than Arthur's. Cobb put a hand on Arthur's shoulder; the man looking up at him while still embracing Ariadne. Arthur's eyes, though far too worn for a man his age, held nothing but peace and relief.

And for the first time in seven years, Cobb found himself content.

* * *

**A/N: So, here it is. Can you even believe it? Because I sure as hell can't. I want to thank each and every person who has ever reviewed this (literally, so get ready)**

**A great big thanks to: wild-springflower, BlackxValentine, they'recomingtotakemeaway, Blushing Cherry, Feathered Filly, stargazer12, AtlantisGirl12, 59icewolf, realityfling18, OTS, ninasdreams, fillintheblank, the magic is real, marinawings, Ihni, kolachess, MissHaunted-MoonLight, robyn redhead, Happybubblex3, GreggoAddict, Servant05, FreedomIsNotFree996, NikkitaIronBlade.94, littlespider, frkykorngirl, Tonik2, The Dramatic Sneeze, LuxAeterna1020, Ranariel, Don Dorcha, Paradox-Imagination, Writer-N-Disguise, scorpiogirl93, silverwolfneko-chan, Merucha, SuperTeenNewsieAvengerGal, Above Water, Javiera, alaska girl, starefire25, Isilarma, Estelwin, Manina, Singer Savage, DammitimmaD, Sechee, and From Rue with Love **

**Also an extra big "hug-you-until-you-cant-breath" thanks to ladybug114, MillyGlassWing.32.96, E galz/The-doctor-is-on-fire, CovenantGirlLoki, Bookdancer, and the ever-mysterious Guest for reviewing and urging me to get my ass in gear despite the update date. I don't know how you guys have such faith in me, but please know that your reviews are what made this happen.**

**And don't think I had forgotten about you, AngelOtaku121. I don't know why, but for some reason your PM just caught me at the right place and the right time that I just went "You know what? I am going to finish this. Right now." I cannot thank you enough for your words of honestly and encouragement.**

**Seriously, without you guys this story would have never gotten past it's first two chapters. Thanks so much for all the kind words and the only thing I can hope for is that this ending is to your liking.**

**Much love,**

**IYD24**

**PS: Epilogue to follow, then I must say adieu to all my lovely readers. I can never thank you enough.**


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